HOUSTON, March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. boom in onshore
natural gas production has cut power prices and appears to be
contributing to the "reshoring" of manufacturing jobs from
overseas, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on
Friday.

"It's a terrific development. I don't want to overstate it
but it's one of the bright spots in the economy," he said at the
IHS CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

Bernanke said Friday's jobs report was positive.

"The jobs number we got this morning was consistent with a
recovering economy," said Bernanke.

Signs of less wrangling in Congress over the debt limit and
the budget should help alleviate worries among investors,
Bernanke said, but he added more needs to be done on "too big to
fail" rules that would limit the risks financial institutions
can take.

He added that he feels relatively optimistic about the
global economy.